Learning Center Our Enshrinees

Collett “C.E.” Woolman


  • Borrowed two Army aircraft with Dr. Bert Coad and proved the effectiveness of crop dusting. By 1925, Woolman ran Huff Daland Dusters, the world’s first aerial dusting company.
  • Purchased Huff Daland with a group of associates in 1928 and renamed it Delta Air Service after its investors in the Mississippi Delta country. Woolman became Vice President and General Manager of Operations and was elected to the Board of Directors in 1930.
  • On June 17th, 1929, Delta operated its first passenger flight from Dallas, Texas to Jackson, Mississippi.
  • Won an airmail contract with the U.S. government during the Great Depression which allowed the company to expand both airmail and passenger services.
  • Contributed to the war effort during World War II by establishing a separate area in the Atlanta airport to modify warplanes. Delta modified over 1,000 aircraft, overhauled engines and instruments, and trained Army pilots and mechanics.
  • Headed Delta’s operations for more than four decades and named Chairman and CEO in 1956.
  • Under his leadership, Delta was the first to use jet airplanes for service. 

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